With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa: E.B. Sledge ...

[Cornpatch MO]

No one has mentioned it, but I am reading " The Killing of The Rising Sun " co-authored by Bill O'Riley. I shocking non fiction book that covers several aspects of WWII in the Pacific. No political personal points of view . This book was on the best seller list for a long time......................MO

 

[69 mayflower]

While on vacation last week my wife and myself had the pleasure of meeting one of the last surviving Navajo code talkers. I've got to say it was very moving to listen to the stories from a man who was there and played such a big part in helping to defeat the Japanese. It was a true honor. They are trying to get a code talkers museum built and were collecting donations for the cause. He was selling a book called Navajo Weapon by Sally McClain. Needless to say we were more than happy to donate to the cause. Thank you Peter MacDonald Sr. Navajo code talker

 

[super-bee_ski]

No one has mentioned it, but I am reading " The Killing of The Rising Sun " co-authored by Bill O'Riley. I shocking non fiction book that covers several aspects of WWII in the Pacific. No political personal points of view . This book was on the best seller list for a long time......................MO

Read it
Have it
Great read....

Go deep with Guadalcanal
by Richard Frank
The definitive guide to Guadalcanal, the US Navy's first real victory in the So Pacific and a turning point in the So Pacific campaign

 

[super-bee_ski]

To clear up some "muckity muck" with combat aircraft in the South Pacific campaign....

Contrary to popular belief, the Vought F-4U was not the most common aircraft fighting the Japanese

The primary U.S aircraft were:
1. Grumman TBF Avenger
2. Douglass SBD Dauntless

 

[Budnicks]

Gregory "Pappy" Boyington Commander VFM-214
F4U-1A Corsair {Bah Bah Black Sheep Squadron TV Fame}
Vella Levella end of 1943

good read, it's not a book but still interesting

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pappy_Boyington
Ski, Your post made me think of him

To clear up some "muckity muck" with combat aircraft in the South Pacific campaign....

Contrary to popular belief, the Vought F-4U was not the most common aircraft fighting the Japanese

The primary U.S aircraft were:
1. Grumman TBF Avenger
2. Douglass SBD Dauntless

View attachment 423932



View attachment 423933

 

[super-bee_ski]

Yes, THAT is the KEY...TIMEFRAME
Essentially, the majority of the theatre battles were early, 1941-1942 time frame....
Later on the Vought F-4U became the Bird of choice....
but, Midway, Coral Sea Solomon Islands-Guadalcanal, Bourganville, Savo Island etc all were the TBF Avenger and the Douglass SBD Dauntless
Yeah Budnicks, Pappy was a Medal of Honor recipient!
He was a whopping 31 years old, all his pilots (kids) were 22 and 23 and they called him Gramps and it morphed into Pappy!
Quite a guy
Died in Fresno I think....
I read that book back in 1981 but It on a old "floppy Disk in my brain...hard to recover the files...Ha Ha!

 

[69Coronetrt]

To clear up some "muckity muck" with combat aircraft in the South Pacific campaign....

Contrary to popular belief, the Vought F-4U was not the most common aircraft fighting the Japanese

The primary U.S aircraft were:
1. Grumman TBF Avenger
2. Douglass SBD Dauntless]

I know you are referencing Navy aircraft but I'd like to see the numbers on P36/P40s used.

 

[BeeKool]

Yes, THAT is the KEY...TIMEFRAME
Essentially, the majority of the theatre battles were early, 1941-1942 time frame....
Later on the Vought F-4U became the Bird of choice....
but, Midway, Coral Sea Solomon Islands-Guadalcanal, Bourganville, Savo Island etc all were the TBF Avenger and the Douglass SBD Dauntless
Yeah Budnicks, Pappy was a Medal of Honor recipient!
He was a whopping 31 years old, all his pilots (kids) were 22 and 23 and they called him Gramps and it morphed into Pappy!
Quite a guy
Diesd in Fresno I think....
I read that book back in 1981 but It on a old "floppy Disk in my brain...hard to recover the files...Ha Ha!

It took us 2 years to stop their momentum and gain traction in that theatre.
IMO Midway could well have been the most important Naval battle in history.
Pelelui may well have been the most unnecessary battle in history. Much blood spilled to take an island that should have been bypassed

 

[66Satellite47]

My Dad was a B-24 pilot in the South Pacific in '42 & '43. I recall him telling me that the P-36 was a terrible combat aircraft, complicated and subject to easy damage. He also told me flew P-38 Lightnings a few times and they were a fantastic plane to fly.

 

[super-bee_ski]

I know you are referencing Navy aircraft but I'd like to see the numbers on P36/P40s used.

Most were strictly Navy
The Paciffic campaign was "HEAVY" during the years of:
1941 through 1944
The BIG campaigns were:
Coral Sea: 04 May though 08 June 1942
Midway: 04 June through 07 June 1942
Guadalcanal: 07 August through 09 February 1943
Those campaigns were ALL NAVY in the early campaigns.

1. Douglass TBD Devastator
2. Grumman TBF Avenger
3. Douglass SBD Dauntless
4. The Boeing P-400 ( P-400 were sent to the Fifth Air Force in Australia, for service in the South West Pacific Theatre)

The Vought F4-U Corsair was built in 1942
It showed up later at Henderson Field during 1943.

The P-51 was a relative latecomer to the Pacific Theater.

 

[66Satellite47]

Most were strictly Navy
The Paciffic campaign was "HEAVY" during the years of:
1941 through 1944
The BIG campaigns were:
Coral Sea: 04 May though 08 June 1942
Midway: 04 June through 07 June 1942
Guadalcanal: 07 August through 09 February 1943
Those campaigns were ALL NAVY in the early campaigns.

1. Douglass TBD Devastator
2. Grumman TBF Avenger
3. Douglass SBD Dauntless
4. The Boeing P-400 ( P-400 were sent to the Fifth Air Force in Australia, for service in the South West Pacific Theatre)

The Vought F4-U Corsair was built in 1942
It showed up later at Henderson Field during 1943.

The P-51 was a relative latecomer to the Pacific Theater.

The other plane that saw action in the Pacific was the P-38 Lightning. It had long range and was able to get out far enough to get Yamamoto.

 

[super-bee_ski]

Again, later
Yamato had a huge FAIL at Guadalcanal and was heavily censured
Late 1942 saw the first of the P-38s in the Pacific campaign

And yes, it had a long range
First "accepted" long range aircraft in WWII?
A variant of the Mitsubishi Zero
1,200 NM range

 

[69Coronetrt]

You might want to check your dates on Coral Sea. I presume that's a typo.
Did you mean the Bell P-400?

 

[66Satellite47]

Again, later
Yamato had a huge FAIL at Guadalcanal and was heavily censured
Late 1942 saw the first of the P-38s in the Pacific campaign

And yes, it had a long range
First "accepted" long range aircraft in WWII?
A variant of the Mitsubishi Zero
1,200 NM range

Ski you are badly confused. The P-38 Lightning was nothing like the Zero. P-38 was a twin tail, twin engine fighter designed by legendary Kelly Johnson. The Zero was a single engine, low wing wing, very light weight, very agile, poorly armoured plane, subject to devastating fuel tank hits. The Zero was a very effective fighter plane with trained pilots, until hit by American .50 Cal or other fire, then the Zero was an inferno.

 

[super-bee_ski]

Sorry
You must be confused.
I know my planes
I know the So Pacific campaign.
What is your question?

Is it the question of the "Range" of the Zero with tanks?

 

[HALIFAXHOPS]

Breakout is also a great read about the Chosen reservoir in Korea, those men went through hell for sure.

 

[super-bee_ski]

I know what a P-38 is for crying out loud.

The Japanese Zero (two variants) was the brain child of the brilliant design team under Jiro Horikoshi who extracted inspiration from a specification demanding a seemingly impossible blend of agility, speed, and range.
First aircraft with:
An "All Around Vision" canopy
Control wire elasticity to improve high speed handling
A downward twist of the wing tips to lower stall speed.
The ZERO possessed markedly superior climb, acceleration, and maneuverability over the Grumman F4F as with being superior in speed.
One of it's Cardinal Virtues often overlooked was it's combat range of over 1,200 miles with a single drop tank making it the "World's first single engine strategic fighter plane"
(Reference: Richard B. Franks "Guadalcanal", page 67)

 

[super-bee_ski]

You might want to check your dates on Coral Sea. I presume that's a typo.
Did you mean the Bell P-400?

so, when did YOUR Coral Sea battle take place?
And yes, the P-39 and the P-400 are essentially the same plane, AriaCobra but I thought Boeing jumped in and assisted with production, much like Willy's didn't build "ALL" the Jeeps in WWII but the bulk of production was Ford.

 

[super-bee_ski]

This is my Reference for the Coral Sea battle
I read this one last August 2016

 

[super-bee_ski]

So:
Where did I say the Zero was like the P-38?
If I'm wrong, I'll admit it....